U.S. Congress

Is Charlie Crist Florida's Next Governor?

Connie Mack Predicts Connie Mack Will Win Senate Race

So, despite the Real Clear Politics polling average having Connie Mack trailing by six points, and despite Five Thirty Eight giving Connie Mack a one percent chance of winning, and despite the fact not a single newspaper endorsed his candidacy, Connie Mack today has made a bold prediction that Conni ... More >>

David Rivera vs. Joe Garcia House Race Now Rated a "Toss Up"

Despite the fact David Rivera has been continuously under investigation for one thing or another since even before taken his seat in the U.S. House, and despite the fact that there's now suspicions that Rivera helped run the campaign of an apparent ringer in the Democratic primary in his district, m ... More >>

Celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month at These Five Miami Restaurants

There are so many spirits in the world, most of which bring to mind the country of origin. There's Scotch, which invokes the misty highlands of Scotland. Vodka brings to mind cold, crisp nights in Russia and Sweden, and tequila reminds us of sun-filled Mexican beaches and wind-swept deserts. And the ... More >>

Charlie Crist Says Obama "Saved Florida": Republicans Fume, Democrats Shrug

Last night, Charlie Crist completed his nasty two-year break-up with conservatives. When he strolled onto the DNC set in Charlotte, the Republican establishment he once belonged to collectively winced. Then it watched the former Florida governor openly praise President Barack Obama."But even as the ... More >>

Miami-Dade Election Results Liveblog: Pit Bulls, Primaries, and County Hall

Miami-Dade voters went to the polls today to vote on a long ballot filled with primary battles for both federal and state level legislative races, and the first (and in some cases, possibly final) rounds of the county mayor race, and several county commission seats. Longtime Miami-Dade State Attorne ... More >>

Latino Republicans More Approving of Gay Marriage Than Rest of GOP

This past March, a secret memo from the anti-gay marriage group the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) leaked. It underlined plans to make "support for [traditional] marriage [editor: in their language, that means opposition to gay marriage] a key badge of Latino identity." Of course, it's od ... More >>

Trans Fats: New York Bans It, Florida Lets Anybody Use It

Flickr CCShoppers entering the Fresh Market in Coconut Grove are greeted with vibrant flowers, elegant wooden fixtures and mellow classical music.The bakery section features organized stacks of sugar cookies, fruity pies and loaf cakes, all placed in a very sweet, delicious way.But, if you take a cl ... More >>

Sofia Vergara Will Never Be Florida's First Lady

Bad news, you guys: it appears the chances that Sofia Vergara will ever be Florida's first lady have dwindled. "Wait," you ask, "there was a serious chance Sofia Vergara could have been the first lady of Florida?"Well, she was dating Nick Loeb, some rich guy from a powerful and politically connected ... More >>

Connie Mack, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Other Florida Politicians Chided by Watchdog Report

Fudge your expenses at work and you could get fired. Fudge them when you're in Congress and you'll probably get away with it.A new anti-corruption report spells out how hundreds of U.S. representatives use their positions to enrich themselves and their families. According to the report, those engage ... More >>

Connie Mack Gets Called "Charlie Sheen of Florida Politics" by George LeMieux

According to polls Rep. Connie Mack IV is currently "#Winning!" when it comes to Florida's Republican Senate primary, but his campaign has hit quite a few snags this week. Sensing an opportunity to pounce, Mack's last serious remaining challenger, ex-Senator George LeMieux, called Mack the ... More >>

Highlights From the Comments Section: Civil Political Discourse Edition

SOMEBODY SAID SOMETHING I DON'T AGREE WITH LET'S KILL HIMWe didn't mean to open quite so many cans of worms with posts about Florida Rep. Allen West and the furious email he sent to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz. The blog posts stayed away from his politics, stayed away from her politics and simply s ... More >>

Allen West Tells Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz to "Shut the Heck Up"

​Republican Congressman Allen West, everyone's favorite Iraqi-torturing politician from the 22nd district, has given us another lesson in the statesmanship he holds so dear.West sent an email to fellow Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz late yesterday after she made remarks on the House floor th ... More >>

Do Florida Democrats Have a Hispanic Outreach Problem?

​Democrats in Florida have a huge registered voter advantage over Republicans, but you couldn't tell that by looking at the leadership in Tallahassee and the Republican super majorities in both house of the state legislature. There's a few reasons for that situation (including the Republican-contr ... More >>

Best of Miami 2011: Best Politician

In anticipation of the upcoming Best of Miami issue hitting newsstands June 16, here is a sneak peek at one category and its winner.Photo by C. Stiles​Best PoliticianFrederica Wilson

Allen West, uncut

A candid conversation with South Florida's rising Tea Party star.

Kendrick Meek's Post Politics Gig: Journalism

After his failed Senatorial bid, we've been wondering what former Congressman Kendrick Meek's next step would be? Would he follow his mother into the lucrative world of lobbying? Would he join a think tank or non-profit? What about an appointment in the Obama administration? Nope. Actually he's head ... More >>

Marco Rubio Promises He Won't Be GOP VP Candidate in 2012

​Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has said time and time again he won't run for president in 2012, and while he hadn't exactly been stoking the flames, he had left the door just a crack open that he'd perhaps consider running for vice president. Well, yesterday he shut that door, announcing on Meet th ... More >>

David Rivera's Office Tries and Fails to Remove Scandals from Wikipedia

​Remember how Rep. David Rivera is allegedly a giant, corrupt scumbag? Well, someone in his office would rather you forget. According to Politico someone in Rivera's office is desperately trying to remove all references to the many investigations Rivera currently finds himself at the center of fro ... More >>

MSNBC Host Joe Scarborough Being Courted to Run for Senate

​Last time Sen. John Cornyn, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tried to recruit someone from Florida to run for U.S. Senate, he chose Charlie Crist, and we all know that didn't work out so well. Now, for 2012, he's going after another Republican with possible cross-pa ... More >>

You Can Now Buy Mike Haridopolos' Crappy Book for $9.99 on Your Kindle

​So, this weekend the Associated Press published a story on some crappy book Florida Senate President and likely US Senate candidate Mike Haridopolos got $152,000 in taxpayer money from Brevard Community College to write. Besides being of questionable quality, only one copy of the book existed. We ... More >>

Rep. Wasserman Schultz: Republicans' Effort to Redefine Rape is "A Violent Act Against Women"

​With Republicans now back in control of the US House of Representatives one of their first orders of business seems to be a drastic legal redefinition of rape. The proposal has been met with outrage by many anti-rape activists, including South Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz who says she "c ... More >>

Is Rick Scott Preparing to Screw Teacher and Police Pension Plans to Plug Budget?

​Funny how though Tallahassee has been in the death grip of complete Republican control for more than a decade, the state still finds itself year after year with billion dollar budget holes to close. In order to shore up this year's $3.6 billion shortfall Gov. Rick Scott, several Republican politi ... More >>

Candidates Line Up to Replace Frederica Wilson in Special State Senate Election

​>While Frederica Wilson is up in D.C. preparing to be sworn into the U.S. Congress, her seat in the Florida Senate sits empty. Yesterday, outgoing Governor Charlie Crist announced that the primary election to replace Wilson will take place on February 8, while the general election will be Mar ... More >>

Sore Loser Maurice Ferré Endorses Rick Scott To Spite Dems

Maurice Ferré, who 25 years ago was the mayor of the City of Miami, thinks he didn't get a fair shake in his long shot run for Senate in the Democratic primary. Somehow he's claiming this is "an insult to every Hispanic voter in our state." So what does he do to get back at the Democratic party? He ... More >>

Ads in Attorney General Race are the Best Legal Drama on TV

​Republican Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi's latest campaign ad is pretty damn good. Actually we're not sure if it would work better as an actual campaign ad or a trailer for an upcoming CBS legal drama. It's pure Hollywood, with stirring string music, ominous sound effects, and a spooky sou ... More >>

Miami Herald Losing Chief Political Reporter Beth Reinhard To National Journal

via Naked Politics​Bad news for the Miami Herald: its top political reporter, Beth Reinhard, is heading to D.C. to write for the National Journal magazine. Reinhard, a South Florida native who has been with the Herald since 1998, will be the Journal's new chief political correspondent.The only goo ... More >>

Sofia Vergara Will Be First Lady of Florida One Day, Apparently

​If a man is dating Modern Family star and Colombian bombshell Sofia Vergara, what more could he possibly want out of life? Well, according to Page Six, the man who is currently dating Vergara, Nicholas Loeb, one day wants to be Governor of Florida. As the gossip column is quick to point out, that ... More >>

Election Day Races to Keep an Eye On

Will Bill McCollum and Kendrick Meek hold back the two millionaire candidates? Will Miami ​Mayor Tomas Regalado's blossoming political machine get his daughter a seat on the Miami-Dade School Board? Will Dorrin Rolle survive his scandalous year to win another term to the county commission? Wi ... More >>

State Reps Juan Zapata and Esteban Bovo Slam Arizona Immigration Law

via myfloridahouse.govRep. Juan C. Zapata, the first Colombian-American in Tally, pledged to fight Arizona-style reform.​While Bill McCollum and Rick Scott tussle daily on the airwaves over who will be meaner to immigrants, a diverse group of state leaders -- including Tallahassee's first Colombia ... More >>

Rick Scott and Bill McCollum want to turn Miami into an immigration prison

Rick Scott and Bill McCollum Are Florida's Grand Wizards

​Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke claims Democrats are missing in action in the governor's race.The Democratic Party is out of sight and out of mind in the ... More >>

Paul Crespo to David Rivera: "Anywhere You Meet Me, Guaranteed to Go Down."

David Rivera May Need Steven Bauer to reprise his role as Manolo for tonight's Republican party meet-up​State Rep. David Rivera's campaign for U.S. Congress has taken quite the ass-kicking since he was caught being less than forthright about his friendship with Ariel Pereda, a Miami businessman wh ... More >>

Florida Republican Candidate's Glee-Inspired Campaign Ad

​Used to be when a politician had an embarrassing kid, he or she would exercise what's known as the "Rosemary Kennedy option." Nowadays, you just put your crazy kid in your commercials and let him sing, dance, and get his Glee on in the hopes it will somehow get you electe ... More >>

Donna Milo: Sex-changed and bound for Congress

The Tea Party is the KKK

Iron Man 2 will lead to 3 and probably 4, but that doesn't mean it's good

Betrayal: Sen. George LeMieux Says He'll Support Rubio over Crist

​Talk about betrayal! Sen. George LeMieux says the he'll support the Republican nominee over his old friend Charlie Crist: "I will support our Republican nominee and will continue to do everything I can both in Florida and across the country to increase the number of Republicans in the United ... More >>

Rudy Moise's Campaign Hits a New Low

Rudy Moise is campaigning for U.S. Congress​Rudy Moise must be desperate for cash to finance his political campaign. The Haitian physician is running for the U.S. congressional seat being vacated by Kendrick Meek, who is running for the Democratic Party's nomination in the U.S. Senate race.This af ... More >>

Crist Runs as an Independent: The Live Blog

​Any moment now Florida Governor Charlie Crist is expected to announce that he's running as an independent for Senate. A crowd full of reporters and supporters have gathered at Straub Park in St. Pete, Fl to hear his announcement. We're watching CNN where Wolf Blitzer says they'll be covering it l ... More >>

Marco Rubio for President in 2012 Talk Begins

​Marco Rubio may be well ahead in the polls, but he hasn't even won the GOP nominations for Senate yet, let alone the actual general election. That hasn't stopped one conservative columnist with a prominent Rubio-induced rager from talking up the Miami lad as a 2012 presidential contender."I belie ... More >>

Spence-Jones to Miami Herald: I Did Not Compare Myself to MLK

Michelle Spence-Jones is not taking her latest suspension from the Miami City Commission quietly.The District 5 commissioner has taken aim at her two biggest adversaries -- Gov. Charlie Crist, who suspended her again yesterday, and the Miami Herald, which has oft criticized her attempts to keep her ... More >>

Florida: 47th Most Powerful State in DC

​Florida ranks 47th our of the 50 states in terms of influence and seniority in the US Congress according to an analysis by The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A dismal ranking by any means, but even more so considering we're the 4th most populace state. Our legislators have less swagger on the hill than ... More >>

This Week's Day by Day Picks

According to Granma

Threats and Violence Lead to Tragedy